Hasta La Ideas

Dezeen Wire: plans for branches of the Guggenheim, Louvre and other museums in Abu Dhabi by leading architects have been dealt a blow by delays to a key construction contract, according to a report in today’s Financial Times.

The article claims that a government spending review has led to the cancellation of the concrete works tender for Frank Gehry‘s Guggenheim and could affect the other proposed buildings in the Saadiyat Island development including a branch of the Louvre by Jean Nouvel, national museum by Norman Foster, maritime museum by Tadao Ando and performing arts centre by Zaha Hadid.

The first buildings were due for completion in just over two years time but the developer, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), has already announced that the estimated delivery has been put back at least a year. Officials from the TDIC, Louvre and Guggenheim have all claimed that the projects are continuing as planned but news of the spending review has cast doubt over the validity of these claims.

See our previous stories on the launch of the Saadiyat Island development here, Frank Gehry’s design for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum here and Jean Nouvel’s proposal for the Louvre here.

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Dezeen Screen: here’s a live stream of a debate with all seven partners of architects OMA, taking place at the Barbican Art Gallery in London tonight. Watch the live stream on Dezeen Screen »

Dezeen Wire: the Design Council in the UK is to appoint a new director for Design Council CABE following the announcement that Diane Haigh has left the post.

Haigh was formerly the Director of Design Review at CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) and played a key role in the merger with the Design Council earlier this year – see our previous story.

Here are some more details from the Design Council:

Design Council seeks new Director for Design Council Cabe as Diane Haigh steps down

Diane Haigh, the Director of Design Council Cabe has announced her departure. Diane was Director of Design Review at CABE from 2007 and joined the Design Council when the two organisations merged in April 2011. Over the last six months, she has supported the organisation through a period of change, including re-establishing national design reviews.

David Kester said: “Di Haigh has been a great asset to Design Council Cabe as an architect, thinker and leader of Design Review. I am very grateful to her for all her help bringing CABE into the Design Council.  We now open a new chapter and I look forward to appointing her successor.”

Diane Haigh said: “Over the last four years it has been a huge privilege to work with so many terrific people, firstly at CABE as Director of Design Review and latterly as Director of CABE at the Design Council. It has been a fascinating time for me, having been involved in discussions across a broad range of developments. I am most grateful for the commitment of all those who have engaged with us in making design reviews into real opportunities to strengthen scheme proposals.

Having now achieved the successful merger of the CABE team into the Design Council as one integrated organisation, it seems a good moment for me to move on to fresh challenges. New ways of working are called for to respond to the changing context and a new management team can now take the vision forward. I wish them well in continuing the vital contribution that Design Council Cabe can make to achieving sustainable well-designed development for communities across the country.”

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Dezeen Wire: artist Ai Weiwei, architect Bjarke Ingels and designer Joris Laarman are among the winners of WSJ. Magazine‘s first Innovator of the Year Awards, a prize honouring the world’s most creative and progressive individuals.

The winners were chosen by editors of the Wall Street Journal and a panel of experts and will be presented with the awards (designed by Laarman) at a ceremony at the Museum of Modern Art in New York on Thursday.

Here is some more information from WSJ. Magazine, including the full line up of winners:

WSJ. Magazine’s first annual Innovator of the Year Awards celebrate the people and ideas changing the world

WSJ. Magazine has announced its inaugural Innovator of the Year Awards, honoring the most creative, disruptive, and influential individuals in the world today. In conjunction with the November issue of WSJ., seven winners will be honored at a dinner on Thursday, October 27, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The November issue of WSJ. will hit newsstands on Saturday, October 29, as part of WSJ Weekend.

“Our goal was to determine who is shaping our world the most creative, groundbreaking ways,” said Editor-in-Chief Deborah Needleman in announcing the awards, “whether it’s something we behold or live in, marvel at, participate in or consume.”

The winners of the 2011 WSJ. Magazine’s Innovator of the Year Awards are: Ai Weiwei (Art); Katie Grand (Fashion); Elon Musk(Technology); Bjarke Ingels (Architecture); Steve Ells (Food); Joris Laarman (Design); and The Giving Pledge, founded by Warren Buffetand Bill Gates (Philanthropy).

The Innovator of the Year Awards were chosen by editors of The Wall Street Journal, with input from a select group of experts in each field. The award itself was designed by the winner in the design category, Joris Laarman. This year’s awards are sponsored by Audi and Cartier.

The 2011 WSJ. Innovators of the Year

ART: Ai Weiwei, the acclaimed artist and creator of the Bejiing Olympics’ “bird’s nest” stadium, who became the worldwide symbol of free expression when he was jailed this year by the Chinese government. Artist Marina Abramovic will accept the award on his behalf.

FASHION: Katie Grand, the visionary stylist and right-hand woman to trailblazing designers such as Marc Jacobs and Miuccia Prada, whose ability to interpret and create new trends is unmatched. Designer Marc Jacobs will present the award to Grand.

TECHNOLOGY: Elon Musk, for revolutionizing three of the biggest industries in the world–automobiles, energy and space exploration–simultaneously. Musk envisions a world where cars run on electricity, where homes and businesses are powered by the sun, and where humans colonize Mars. Artist Tom Sachs, whose recent work is based on the imagery of space, will present the award to Musk.

ARCHITECTURE: Bjarke Ingels, for his wildly expressive structures, including the radical re-imagining of the New York high-rise apartment building, his commitment to sustainability and his philosophy of “pragmatic utopianism.” Richard Wurman, the author, architect and founder of the TED conferences, will present the award to Ingels.

FOOD: Steve Ells, chef and founder of Chipotle restaurants, for his dedication to sustainability, reinventing fast food and changing the way America eats. Presenting Ells with his award will be best-selling author and organic food advocate Jonathan Safran Foer.

DESIGN: Joris Laarman for seamlessly melding the invisible logic of science with the ornamental nature of design, mapping out a bold new aesthetic with robots and 3-D printers. Presenting the award to Laarman will be Murray Moss, founder of design art company Moss.

PHILANTHROPY: The Giving Pledge for its revolutionary effect on Philanthropy. Launched just over one year ago by Warren Buffett andBill Gates, The Giving Pledge has turned into the biggest fundraiser in the world, attracting 69 billionaires so far and a total value of more than $150 billion.

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Dezeen Wire: the Royal Institute of British Architects‘ Future Trends Survey for September points to a drop in the number of architectural practices anticipating increased demand for their services.

Unemployment in the industry is also a concern, with fifteen per cent of practices expecting staffing levels to drop and an increased number of architects reporting that they had been unemployed in September.

See past RIBA Future Trends Survey results here.

RIBA Future Trends Survey results for September 2011

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Future Trends Survey for September 2011 shows that confidence about overall workloads remains fragile.

The number of practices expecting more work dropped from the previous month. This represents a fall in the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index at -10, down from +2 in August.

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index also fell in September, down from -3 in August 2011 to -7. Fifteen per cent of practices expected staff levels to drop, although the number expecting an increase rose slightly. Large practices – those with more than 51 staff – are more inclined to feel able to increase permanent staffing levels over the next quarter than small and medium-sized practices.

The number of architects reporting that they personally had been underemployed during September increased.

Sector forecasts also reflect the challenging conditions facing the profession: 15 per cent of practices expected work levels to grow in the private housing sector and practices, down from August, and practices expecting workloads to decrease in this sector rose to 21 per cent.

Expectation of work in the commercial sector also fell: 21 per cent of practices predicted a decrease, although the number predicting growth remained constant at 16 per cent. The outlook for the public sector workload remained unchanged from August: 29 per cent of practices expected a fall in workload, with 5 per cent predicting an increase.

The statistical analysis of the survey enables the RIBA to track regularly two key indices of confidence within the profession: future workloads and staffing levels. Both fell in September. 2011.

Adrian Dobson, RIBA Director of Practice, said:

“The September results for the Future Trends Survey clearly show that confidence about future workloads overall over the next quarter for UK architects remains fragile, although large practices remain relatively more confident, particularly in the commercial sector, than small and medium-sized practices.

“Although overall demand for architects’ services continues to be very weak in some sectors, anecdotal evidence from the survey suggests that niche markets such as high-end bespoke housing, conservation works and certain healthcare sectors remain resilient.

“Practices based in the South of England remain much less pessimistic than those in other parts of the country, with those in Northern Ireland and Wales and the West currently the least confident about future levels of work.

“If UK economic production continues to stagnate, the Government may introduce some fiscal stimulus in 2012, which may include bringing forward some infrastructure capital spending. This could open up opportunities, for example, for practices with expertise in the transport and energy sectors.”

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